


Time is a Harsh Mistress

by Katharos



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 04:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katharos/pseuds/Katharos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, <i>somebody</i> had to teach Priest!Yukito to use his powers</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time is a Harsh Mistress

The stone floor was hard and cold beneath his hands and knees, the rough hewn rock harsh against his bare palms.

He was breathing harshly, painful and painfully loud in the echoing chamber, his sweat cold about his neck, soaking the collar of the thin tunic he wore.

His teacher's hands settled over his shoulders, large and reassuringly heavy. Solid. "Relax," he murmured, his voice a low, deep, cultured rumble. "Breath."

Yukito forced himself to comply, to control and slow, measuring his breaths and his heartbeat. Slowly, they both began to calm.

And then between one breath and the next it slammed into him again and he choked on a scream, before even that awareness was wrenched from him.

Not a stream or a river.

A sandstorm.

Every possible moment, tiny and distinct as a grain of sand, driven by winds stronger than any of Kurshul month, that brought sandstorms that could strip a person's flesh from their bones.

These winds could strip a person's soul.

They tore through him and across him and Yukito screamed…

An infinity of moments, too quick to see and comprehend; a scent, a burst of music, laughter then rotting flesh, the ring of sword on sword and the brilliant, verdant green of grass, all of them at once until he thought he would go mad.

He was both drowning and being flayed alive.

And a voice reached him, shouting, as strong as the howling winds. Stronger. "Anchor! Yukito, you must find your anchor!"

_Anchor?_ Yukito thought dazedly, and then the memory was there.

_"Time is not forgiving." The room is full of heat, his teacher's voice is deep, creating a melodic counterpoint to the small, regular chirps of a lizard hidden somewhere in the walls. "It doesn't accept excuses, nor is it patient. To open yourself to it's full brunt, to enter willingly into its most raw state and _take_ what you need from it, instead of merely accepting the scattered droplets that drift into your mind is to risk being torn apart. To the point of madness. Worse, it can tear your self free from the bonds that tie you to your body, to a single world and time, so that you are lost for ever. " _

Yukito sits perched upon a wooden bench, pile of scrolls balanced across his lap. "Then how do we avoid that, teacher?"

"You find an anchor. Something important to you, that you will always desire to return to. Something you can define yourself by, so that you never lose your self."

And then he was spat back out, back into Time's harsh hands, but he almost didn't notice because compared to some of his teacher's riddles, the answer to this one was simple.

Touya, he thought and for the briefest moment Time seemed to still, flicker, with the Touyas who were/might have been/are/will be. _To-ya_

And the world snapped back into place.

He collapsed, a puppet with its strings cut, and strong arms caught and held him as he shook, his muscles turned to water and darkness dancing before his eyes. Gradually the worst of the shudders passed and his eyes cleared and he relaxed, sighing softly.

"Drink this." A glass was pushed into his hand and he sipped the cool water gratefully, feeling his trembling begin to ease.

"Are you sure?"

Yukito glanced up, confused. "Sure?"

"It's a risky thing, to choose a person as your anchor," Clow explained, his eyes watchful and careful. "If that person dies before you, leaving this world… you will risk madness."

Yukito smiled. "I'm sure, teacher." _Because,_ he thought, _If Touya dies, it will only be because I have already spent everything I have. And if I haven't…_

Clow sighed, and it seemed a weight slipped from his shoulders, even as a smile slipped back onto his face and into his eyes. "Then I am sure as well. Everything will definitely be alright."


End file.
